Shelter Among Kindred Spirits
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: When the Howling Commandos get some bad press, Spiderman suggests they stay at the Grant Mansion until things blow over, but who is trying to make the Commandos look bad? Just a crazy idea I had. :)


**A story that hit me one day and I was like, hmm, this might be something. :) **

**Ultimate Spiderman belongs to Marvel and Disney. Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Rachel and Chelsea.**

* * *

**Shelter Among Kindred Spirits**

Spiderman sighed. "This isn't good," he said to no one in particular.

Nick Fury looked grim. "That's a mild understatement," he said, though his tone lacked the gruffness at the moment. "I can't have the Howling Commandos on board here with the mayor breathing down my neck for what they did."

"In their defense, Mr. Fury, they had no idea that the 'vampire' they saw was just a person dressing up for a play," the webslinging hero said. "You know how Blade feels about vampires."

"That's still no excuse for what they did and worst of all, when Sandman attacked, they went in recklessly and put a lot of innocent lives in danger," Fury said. "Some of those kids at the hospital are still tramatized, despite you saving them in time."

Spiderman nodded. "Well, no offense to the Howling Commandos, but they can be scary at first glance, especially to little kids who have been told there's no such thing as monsters," he said. "But...I'm not sure how we can paint them in a good light. Jameson at the Bugle already prints bad stuff about me and I've learned to just deal with it."

"True, though it's taken you some time to ignore that loudmouth," Fury said.

The webslinger chuckled. "Can't argue that point," he said. "Mr. Fury, what if the Commandos went someplace to lay low for a while? Somewhere that the press can't find them?"

"That would be a good idea, but it'll have to be a heavily guarded place and the Commandos will have to be watched constantly."

Spiderman grew thoughtful. "Actually, the place I had in mind has a state-of-the-art security like S.H.I.E.L.D. does and there's usually a lot of people there too," he said.

Fury looked at him. "What place is this, Spiderman?" He asked.

"You might have heard of it," the hero said. "The Grant Mansion."

The superagent straightened in his seat. "Spiderman, that place is no place for anyone," he said. "It's abandoned."

The hero shook his head. "Actually, it's occupied," he said. "But the family there is careful because of their enemies. Perhaps this name will ring a bell: Rachel Jocklin."

Fury looked surprised. "Rachel Jocklin?" He asked. "Niece of the Jocklin brothers?"

"I think so," Spiderman said. "I never asked about her uncles, but she lives in the Grant Mansion with her family, which is huge and made of unique people."

The superagent looked dubious. "You know her personally?" He asked.

The webslinger nodded. "She gave me a place to stay when I left New York to escape the press and I usually swing by whenever I need a break," he said. "I've actually met quite a few members of her family and some of them look similar to the Howling Commandos. They'll fit in fine there, providing Rachel doesn't mind some guests."

Fury looked thoughtful now. "Do you have a way to contact her?" He asked.

* * *

_Moments later..._

Spiderman had sent a message to the Plumbers, who relayed it to Rachel, who replied that she'd be in the aircraft shortly. A few seconds later, she teleported in, surprising many of the people on the aircraft. Stepping down from the teleportation pads, the young woman smiled. "Ah, a trip in one of those is always invigorating," she said before seeing Spiderman and smiling. "Spiderman, how are you?"

"I'm good, Rach," he said as they shared a friendly hug before he introduced her to Nick Fury, who greeted her with a nod.

"Spiderman believes you might be able to help us with a situation," he said.

"What kind of situation?" She asked.

He looked at her. "First off, I need to know. How good are you at keeping secrets?" He asked.

Rachel smiled. "I protect a huge secret in my home daily," she said. "Especially with enemies like the Forever Knights and some other wackos that my family and I have faced."

Fury nodded. "Then the rumors are true," he said. "You do house aliens."

"Aliens and humans who need shelter and safe haven," she said. "And I guard them fiercely. I'd rather lose my life than betray my family."

The superagent nodded. "Then you just might be the one for this," he said. "We have a team called the Howling Commandos and they've recently gotten some bad publicity."

He handed her the file and she gazed at it, not even flinching at seeing what they looked like, though her eyes widened at seeing Blade. "Wait, is that the legendary vampire hunter?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's him," Spiderman said.

Rachel looked at Fury. "Some of my brothers share many similarities with your Commandos, but if they are going to stay under my roof, then they must get along with my family and not harm any of them. If I find they've harmed any member of my family, alien or not, I will kick them out and demand you come pick them up," she said.

He saw she was serious. "If there is any trouble, contact me at once," he said, giving her his number. "And...thank you. Hopefully this will blow over soon and the Commandos can come back."

"How bad was the damage?" Rachel asked.

"A kid's hospital sustained damage in the battle and the guys...kind of lost it when they saw someone dressed as Dracula, who betrayed them sometime back," Spiderman said.

The blonde-haired woman looked thoughtful before sighing. "Alright," she said in agreement, pulling out her Plumber's badge. "Rachel to Frankenstrike. Bringing party of six. Tell the others, please."

"Frankenstrike to Rachel. Reading you loud and clear. Doing so right now. Prepare for teleporting recall in ten minutes," Frankenstrike's voice came over the badge.

"Ten-four. We'll be ready."

With that, she put away her badge and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Okay," she said.

Five minutes later, the six Commandos were standing in front of Fury, Rachel, and Spiderman, who was going with them back to the Mansion to help Rachel with the Commandos. "Alright, Commandos," the superagent said. "Miss Jocklin has agreed to offer you refuge in her home until this whole mess blows over. While there, you are to follow her rules. If you don't comply, I'll be forced to put you all in the brig and suspend you from missions."

Werewolf By Night sighed. "Fury, we're prepared to face the consequences dead on," he said.

"I believe Fury is saying a retreat is wise for now," said N'Kantu, the living mummy.

"We have to hide?" Frankenstein's Monster asked.

"Perhaps you forgot, Fury, we don't hide!" Blade said, pulling out his swords.

Man-Thing shuffled his feet, not really speaking, while the Invisible Man had something to say. "It's not our fault that Sandman struck the hospital," he said.

Fury looked ready to blow when Rachel stepped forward and touched his arm lightly. "Mr. Fury, may I?" She asked.

He stepped back with a nod and Rachel turned to face them. "It doesn't matter who's fault it is, but the damage has been done and it'll only get worse if you guys don't lie low for a bit," she said, looking at them sternly. "It's not only your reputations at stake, it's mine and Nick Fury's reputations at stake too, along with Spiderman's reputation. So, think with your heads instead of your pride."

It was something to see a young woman telling off creatures that were no doubt a bit more powerful than her, but the Commandos seemed to think about her words. Blade sighed. "Alright," he said finally. "We'll follow your rules, Miss Jocklin. What are they?"

She nodded. "You are to get along with my family and not to hurt any of them," she said. "I'm taking a big risk by allowing you into my home. Don't make me regret it."

Fury nodded. "You heard her," he said.

It wasn't long after that Frankenstrike teleported them all to the Grant Mansion, the inhabitants now alerted that the Commandos were there. Rachel showed them to their rooms and turned to look at Spiderman. "I really hope this works, Spidey," she said.

"Me too," he admitted.

* * *

_One week later..._

Rachel let out a sigh. So far, the Commandos had followed the rules and though they didn't trust the aliens and the aliens didn't trust them, there was an understanding respect, so it was mostly peaceful. She now glanced at the paper in front of her. It was the Bugle with Jameson again trying to make the Commandos look bad. Snare-Oh and Ghostfreak came in and paused at seeing her. "Still bad?" The Thep Khufan asked.

"Big time," Rachel replied with another sigh. "Fury's working on it, but...I'm not sure how much more this can go on."

Chelsea, Rachel's niece, came in and she hugged her aunt. "Aunty, I think Blade might have engaged a fight with Uncle Whampire again," she said. "I saw them in the training room."

"Oh, they're sparring, young one," Ghostfreak said gently. "Apparently, Blade wants to be prepared in case an alien vampire with bad intentions crosses his path."

"At least it's been mostly quiet," Rachel admitted.

Later that night, the Commandos were sitting in the rec room when Werewolf By Night stood up. "This really stinks," he said. "While I'm grateful to our hostess for sheltering us, we need to be out there fighting bad guys!"

Spiderman, who had been hanging upside down, shook his head. "Guys, I hate to break it to you, but with Jameson painting you guys in a bad light and with the kids tramatized from the hospital, there's not much you can do right now," he said.

"Spiderman is right," N'Kantu said with a nod. "Though not often optional, a retreat is best."

"It still stinks though," Invisible Man said.

Rachel came in and she looked grim. "Okay, this is getting on my nerves," she said, looking at the tablet in her hands before she looked up at Spiderman. "Spidey, did you by chance take pictures of the Commandos for the Bugle?" She asked.

"Nope," he said. "Never had a chance to. Why?"

Rachel showed him the tablet. "Where did Jameson get these pictures then?" She asked.

That caught their attention and they looked curious. Spiderman contacted Fury, who was aware of the situation. "Someone really wants the Commandos to look bad," he said. "In fact, my team found something disturbing. A holographic projector at the hospital where the Commandos had caused destruction. It gives a perfect picture of something damaged, but when we pulled it away, it was like the damage never happened. It even has some holographic of scared kids."

That shocked them all. "Who would want to make us look bad?" Frankenstein's Monster asked.

"They're going through a lot of trouble to do so," Rachel said, finding this odd.

"Oh, and Rachel? Can you ask the Plumbers if they know what I-13 is? It's on the holographic projector, but my team is having difficulty figuring what it means," Fury said.

Rachel's head snapped up. "Mr. Fury, repeat that figure again, please?" She asked.

"I-13," he said before pausing. "Do you recognize it?"

She nodded. "Inspector 13," she said. "He's a Technadon Weapons Master and one of my family's enemies. But why would he go to make the Commandos look bad? That's not his style."

Snare-Oh came in. "And they don't sell their tech unless they get a high price for it," he said. "So, someone must have paid him for the tech."

"They would have had to have something that appealed to Inspector 13," the young woman said before she got an idea. "Fury, the Commandos need to return to New York. I've got an idea."

* * *

_Midnight in New York City..._

Doctor Doom walked up to a ship that landed and greeted the alien that came out. "Your device worked perfectly," the evil doctor said to Inspector 13. "You have upheld your end of the bargain well."

"Yes, but now, I require the rest of the payment," the weapons master said.

"Of course."

Just as he was about to give the alien the money, it suddenly lifted out of his hand. "Sorry, but this is one payment that you're going to miss," said a voice as the Howling Commandos swooped in quickly and without hesitating. The battle was swift and it wasn't long before both Doctor Doom and Inspector 13 were in custody and taken away.

Fury sighed. "Well, I'm not going to lie, that was something I didn't expect," he admitted.

"Honestly, neither did I," Rachel admitted before looking at Fury. "Hey, whenever the Commandos need to lie low, my door's always open."

With that, she teleported away and the others teleported back to the aircraft, relieved it was over. "Well, now to get a better story on the front page of the Bugle," Fury said.

An agent came up to him. "Sir?" She said, giving him the evening edition of the Bugle. On the front page was the story of the Howling Commandos taking down the enemy. Fury turned to Spiderman, who shrugged his shoulders as they read the story, wondering who had gotten Jameson to print the story.

* * *

_At the Bugle..._

A figure stood over Jameson, who was tied up in his own chair and glaring at the figure in front of him. "Remember this well, Jameson, or I will return," she said. "And I'll bring some friends with me too next time."

The figure, who was clad all in dark brown, then left, scaling the building and standing on top of it before smiling. "Good luck, Commandos," she said as her ears perked up and her tail also went upright, her claws coming out and digging into the roof before she took a leap that carried her from the Bugle to a building that was five blocks away. Bouncing off of that roof, she leapt through the night, keeping her eyes open for anyone looking to paint the heroes she admired into a bad light.

* * *

**Just a crazy idea I had. **

**Please be gentle in the reviews. This is my first time writing the Commados in a story. **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


End file.
